Hearing devices are preferably very small, in particular in the case of In-The-Ear (ITE) hearing devices such as In-The-Channel (ITC) or Completely-In-the-Channel (CIC) hearing devices, but also in case of Behind-The-Ear (BTE) hearing devices. Nevertheless, it is desirable to provide a hearing device with a user interface comprising at least one user control, which allows a user of the hearing device to provoke changes the functioning of the hearing device such as selecting a hearing program.
It is possible to minimize the size of a hearing device and nevertheless provide a user interface by providing a remote control operationally connectable to the hearing device, which comprises said user interface. However, the user has to carry the remote control in order to be able to use the user interface, and a remote control adds considerable cost to the purchase price of the hearing system.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,407, a hearing device is known, which comprises a socket with programming contacts to which a plug can be connected, so as to allow programming of the hearing device. Said socket is provided with a separate, additional contact, which is not used for programming the hearing device. Instead, this additional contact in the socket is used when the plug is not connected to the socket. For this purpose, a push button can be introduced into the socket. Said push button is composed of a switch housing having a PC motherboard with contact pins, a switch spring, an actuation element, and a contact bridge. This solution is cumbersome for several reasons, e.g., the disclosed pushbutton comprises many separate parts, which makes it large in size, cumbersome to assemble and susceptible to failures. And, in addition, the provision of an additional contact in a socket requires cumbersome modifications, not only to the socket, but also to each plug to be used with the socket of the hearing device, and the plugs are, at least as far as used for hearing device fitting, located at and owned by each hearing device professional. And furthermore, the disclosed pushbutton is an additional part to be attached to the hearing device, i.e. it has to be manufactured separately, it can be lost, and it requires a fair amount of space.
It is desirable to provide an alternative way of providing a small hearing device with a user interface.